TOWARDS THE LIGH
Screenplay & Direction:
HOLGER-MADSEN
Countess Ysabel...
Asta Nielsen
The frivolous contess, who toys with men and their feelings the same way she played
with dolls as a child. Ysabel and her mother. countess Prosca, host a charity bazaar.
The old vicar Cordes is
at the party...
The young baron Sandro Grec - an adventurer with a heart of lead
- who has managed to make himself ruler of the countess2 heart...
Professor Manini's daughter, Inga, loves and adores
her cousin Felix, but he only has eyes for Ysabel...
Professor Manini
" $ 50 to kiss your beatiful hand!"
"The left hand, the hand of the
heart, I give to your youing nephew!"
Count Sandro Grec is not
the only adventurer present.
"Professor Manini has promised to join us for a game of
cards at the club later tonight! And he can afford to lose!"
"Dear countess, with your talents, you
could be of much use to the church!"
"I never insult religion or its practitioners, however, I will
not adorn myself with a belief. I do not hold in my heart!"
In the shelter led by the poverty preacher Elias Renato and his helper
Brother Matthias, another party is being held... under different circumstances.
One of the regulars, the old
rag collector Peters.
"Countess! In the hand you gave
me to kiss lies my future and destiny!"
Wenka, a young girl, who considers
death a liberation...
"Dear child, tell me what has led
you to such a desperate decision"!
"My only relative is my drunk and brutal
step-father and my only friend is an alley cat. "
"Get me whiskey, or... "
"Life was Hell to me,
and I decided... "
"Child... God has gives you life, and only
HE has the right to extinguish it again!"
At the club.
"The cue man"
"With us you will find a new
and better home!"
"Dear Lord, I thank you for the
blessing you have given my work today. "
The desire for Ysabel leads Felix
to pay her a visit already the next day...
"It is the young countess Ysabel!"
"I hope you were not bothered!"
"Please don't let us disturb you... I'm happy to have
the opportunity to experience one of your meetings!"
God's word is a rock in happiness and misery Firmly it stands where mountains
sway. As far as you think you'll ever see. God will never lead you astray.
"May it some day be possible for me
to lead you to his kingdom!"
"He was so beautiful when he spoke! ... It's the
first time a preacher's words have reached my heart!"
Like a fly caught in the golden
web of the spider...
"He who has patience has hope!"
"Who did you get those
flowers from?"
"You are mine Ysabel! ... You have five
me your word! ... Don't forget that!"
The countess is concerned by her
daughter's sympathy for Sandro Grec...
"I have allowed myself to bring
Ysabel these flowers!"
"Because Ysabel has promised
to become my wife!"
The power that Sandro Grec holds over Ysabel makes
her believe that she has truly found happiness...
"For your own sake I ask you to forget countess Ysabel!
She is reckless and loves to play with young men's hearts!"
"Tell me honestly, Uncle! ... Don't you think that
countess Ysabel is worthy of even the best man's love?"
ENGAGEMENT Is declared between the deceased Prime Minister Proscaa's only
daughter, Countess Ysabel, and the yyouung I talian noblemaan Baron Sandro Grec.
H onorable Couun tess
Ysabel Prosca Paalaace
Evening came and Felix had
not returned...
"Let us go to Prosca Palace to
hear if he has been there!"
"We had hoped to find my
nephew here!"
H onorable Couun tess
Ysabel Prosca Paalaace
My love for you meant life to me. Now I take
death from youur beauutifuul haand. Felix
"I do nor judge you Countess, but in my heart
is written: What a man sows shall he also reap!"
Generous donations have made it possible for Elias Renato to create
a home for the orphans of society on an island not far from the city...
Generous donations have made it possible for Elias Renato to create
a home for the orphans of society on an island not far from the city...
A month later Countess Ysabel
prepares for her wedding.
"I have feeling that somethig
terrible will happen!"
The same evening "The cue man"
falls into the hands of the police.
"Only a word from me
- and one of the finest families is compromised!"
"The well known Baron Sandro Grec
- or Leon Spontazzi, as he is really called, is no less guilty than I!" ... Ask Professor Manini! ... He is one of his victims!"
"Should we not arrest the imposter
tonight, despite the scandal it'll cause?"
"Professor, maybe you will come with us to Prosca
Palace and prepare the Countess for the disaster!"
Three matadors caught.
Beware. The second.
"It was merely a poor joke!"
The plot thickens for Sandro Grec.
"I must inform you of
bad news... "
"Your fear and anxiety is absolutely
ridiculous and unfounded!"
"No need to lood for your card!
... We know you: Leon Spontazzi!"
"I felt obliged to speed up the arrest, so your
daughter did not start a life with an imposter!"
"Save your words...
I don't want your compassion!"
"That was the punishment for your
recklessness... The punishment that had to come. "
"What a man sows
shall he also reap!"
Half a year later. Since the tragic wedding the
countess has been physically and emotionally broken.
Half a year later. Since the tragic wedding the
countess has been physically and emotionally broken.
...and can inform you that your application for divorce has been accepted. You need have no fear
of meeting your former husband. After his release he will be ex-patriatedd. Sincerely, P.G. Wells.
"Sister Wenka - Today you must
hear what I have to say. "
"Seek comfort with He, who is the best
friend of the unhappy and mourning!"
I did not acknowledge religion, when life was fair, and I am
too proud to do it now that my happiness has been cast aside!"
Old Peter's hardest work.
"You know I love you
- love you so awfully much!"
"Only one owns my heart
- and I have no right to cast my eyes on him. "
Inga has found comfort in the great call of nursing, and
destiny will that she is sent to care for the countess.
"Let the hardship between us be forgotten.
- I have found peace in my heart, and some day you will also find relief from your frief. "
Despite the extensive mission on "The Island of the Homeless"
Elias Renato never neglects his congregation on the mainland.
The power of music.
The seeking shall find, the praying shall gain. More than words can
say. No one shall seek salvation in vain. God will never lead you astray.
"You once promised to show me the way to God's kingdom
- now I wish you could. "
"Come with me to "The Island of
the Homeless" - we can talk better there.!
Wenka's step-father seeks
admission to the island.
"If you will work you are
welcome with us. "
Ysabel's infatuation with Elias Renato
awakens with renewed strenght.
On "The Island of the Homeless"
"The preacher has got fine company
... Countess Ysabel. "
Wenka learns the torment
of jealousy.
"I thought my powers were inextinguishable and acted rashly, but punishment caught up with me and broke my pride.
- Help me, Elias Renato, that I can find peace in my soul. "
"Seek God in nature. That is
where peace is to be found. "
"Only he who is lazy and numb
hears not he voice of eternity. "
"Follow me, Elias Renato,
- let my world be yours, and you will save a soul from despair!"
"I should leave my island and leave all the
people, who put their destinies in my hand. "
While Ysabel fights to pull in the one
she desires, her mother's strenght fades...
"Everything! I'll give you everything,
if you follow me!"
"You tempt me Ysabel, more than a person
may tempt another... because I love you... "
The devil took him to a very
high mountain...
...and showed him all the kingdoms
of the world and their splendour.
"All this I will give you," he said,
"if you will bow down and worship me. "
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is
written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. '
He won the victory
- the greatest of all victories.
"You have humiliated me so deeply that a prolongation
of this meeting will be an embarrassment for both us!"
"Finally I have found you again,
and we shall never be parted. "
"I thank you, Lord, for helping
me overcome myself. "
The fire.
"Your mother has died. "
"What was that?
I... the atheist... did I pray?"
"Almighty God! I command
myself in your strong hand. "
The fire is observed from
the mainland.
Ysabel sails to the island.
At dawn the island was a
smouldering ruin.
"Last night I faced death... I have grown to know myself, and have
seen how foolishly I have worked to lay my life barren and fallow. "
"I come to you repenting my sins, only filled
with a wish to serve Him that you serve. "
Some time later. After her marriage to Elias Renato, Ysabel also serves humanity, and their
congregation has grown so much that man and wife must divide the blessed work between them...
And though I sometimes hold tears in my eyes. When the seed to God's kingdom
I lay My Lord has promised sunlit skies God will never lead you astray.
And to young and old Ysabel is
an angel of light.